Art of distillation



'M rch 15 19 a 27 D. M. ALLAN .Am 01 DISTILLATION Filed Jan. '5, 1922 Patented Mar. 15, 19 27. "UNITED STATES I 1,621,229. PATENT oFFIcE.

DAVID MOYES ALL AN OF HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA, ASSIGNOR TO STANDARD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, A CORPORATION OB DELAWARE.

Am or DIs'rILLA'rIoN.

Application filed January 5, 1922, Serial No. 527,110, and in Canada February 20, 1923.

- and Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view of the still shown in Fig. 1 in vertical section.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numeral 5 indicates a still in which a hydrocarbon oil is undergoing distillation. This still may suitably be one of a series forming a continuous battery through which a continuous current of oil is flowing, successive fractions of the oil being taken off as vapors in successive stills of the series as the oil'passes therethrough. Suitable pipes 6 and 7 are provided as inlets and outlets for the oil into the still 5. The still may suitably be mounted upon a fired setting 8 and may be provided with means, such as the distributing pipe 9 for the injection of steam or other vapor material into the oil undergoing distillation. In operating in accordance with the present invention, the temperature prevailing within the still should be at least 250. F. and is preferably about 420 F. Although the invention is described in connection with-a still ofa continuous battery. with the use of steam within the still to aid in the distillation of the oil, itwill be readily apparent that the invention may be practiced in connection with any type of still in which suitable temperature conditions prevail. Y

The vapors formed in the still pass out through a vapor line 10 into a chamber or expansion drum 11, in which a partial condensation of the vapors takes lace. The uncondensed vapors pass out of t e drum 11 through line 12 to other fractionating chambers (not shown) in the manner wel known in the art and to condenser worm 13. Con densate formed in the drum 11 discharges through pipe 14 into the run-back line 15, which opens into the vapor space in the still 5, preferably above a batlle plate or pan 16. A branch pipe 17 may suitably be provided connecting with the discharge pipe 1% for diverting the condensate in the drum 11 to a cooling worm (not shown) when desired.

The moisture-containing stock, for example, separator slops, that is, a water-oil mixture or emulsion obtained in washing oilwith water, which is tobe treated in accordance with the present invention is forced by a suitable pump 18 into a manifold 19 from which it passes through one or more con nections into manifold 20, from which it passes through pipe 21 into a coil 22 suitably arranged in the vapor space of the still 5. The coil 22, in the specific form illustrated, is constructed of two horizontal coil sections 22 and 22". .The lower coil section 22, in which the moisture containing oil first enters, may suitably be of smaller diameter than the succeeding coil section 22". Thus coil section 22 may suitably be constructed of one and a half inch pipes and coil section 22 of two inch pipes, there being, for example, 37 0 feet of pipe in each coil section with a still operating at a temperature of about 420 F. From the coil 22 the oil together with the vaporized moisture passes through pipe 23 into the upper ortion of the expansion drum 11, into which it is sprayed by means of a suitable head 24. The unvaporized oil discharges from the bottom of the chamber or drum 11 through pipe Hand run-back 15 into the'still 5 and the vaporized moisture passes on with the on uncondensed vapors through the pipe 12. Although the coil 22, in the apparatus illustrated, is located in-the vapor space in the still, it may, if desired, be wholly or partially immersed in the oil in the still.

The feed of the moisture containing oil is controlled in any suitable manner, for example, in the apparatus illustrated, by providlng aplurality of connections 19*, 19 and 19 between the manifolds 19 and 20. These connections are of successively decreasing diameters, connection 19 being, for example, of one-half inch pipe, connection 19 of three-fourths inch pipe and connection 19 of one-inch pipe. One or more of these con- 195 nections may be employed in accordance with the desired rate of feed of the moisture containing oil through the coil 22 in the still 5. The rate of feed of the moisture-contain- .may be pumped at the same pressure through the three-fourths inch connection 19". A fairly dry moisture-containing stock, carrying from 3 to 10% settlings and water may be pumped under the same pressure through the one-inch connection 19 to the coil, or through the one+inch connection with either or both of the other connections. It is readily apparent that other means for securing the desired control of the rate of flow may be provided, if desired.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with specific details of apparatus and of a process for carrying it into efl'ect, it is not intended that these details shall be regarded as limitations upon the scope of the invention, except in so tar as included in the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. In apparatus for the distillation of oil, a still, an expansion chamber, a vapor line passing from the still to the expansion chamber, means for returning condensate from the expansion chamber to the still, a coil within the still, means for feeding moisturecontaining oil into said coil, and means for discharging heated oil material from said coil into said expansion chamber.

.2. In apparatus for the distillation of oil, a still, an expansion chamber, a vapor line leading from the still to the expansion chamber, means for withdrawingcondensate from the expansion chamber, a coil within the still, means for feeding moisture-containing oil into said coil, and means for discharging heated oil material from Said coil into said expansion chamber.

3. In apparatus for the distillation of oil, a still, an expansion chamber, a vapor line passing from the still to the expansion chamber, means for returning condensate from the expansion chamber to the still,means for heating moisture containing oil by the vapors before they proceed to the expansion chamber, and means for feeding the heated moisture-containing oil into said expansion chamber.

DAVID MOYES ALLAN. 

